My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Leading by the numbers…

The Phils (18-14) are right now leading the National League East by .5 games over both the New York Mets and the Florida Marlins, as they prepare to meet the Arizona Diamondbacks (21-10), the team with the best record in baseball for a four games series in Phoenix, Arizona.

Let look at the numbers:

Months:

March: 0-1

April: 15-12

May: 3-1

Having a winning April for the first time in several seasons is one of the main reasons why the Phils are leading the National League Eastern division.

Vs. Opponents :

Washington: 1-2

Cincinnati: 2-2

New York: 2-4

Chicago (NL): 2-1

Houston: 2-1

Colorado: 2-0

Milwaukee: 1-1

Pittsburgh: 2-1

San Diego: 2-1

San Francisco: 2-1

At the moment, the Phils have so far lost only three series against their opponents, as one of the things required to have a good season is to win most, if not all, series played against your opponent. They are 1-2 against the Nationals and 2-4 against the Mets, losing both series against the New Yorkers. They have spilt season series with two teams, the Reds and the Brewers. They are leading season series with six other teams, with their best record, so far, being against the 2007 National League Champions Colorado Rockies, 2-0. This means that series wise, the Phils are 6-3-2.

The Phils are 10-8 at home, and 8-6 on the road, which means that they can win games both at home and on the road.

Batting wise, the Phils are leading the National League in home runs with 48, fourth in the league in total bases with 482, fifth in RBIs with 144, at-bats with 1097 and slugging percentage with .439, tied for sixth in walks with 119, seventh in runs scored with 150 and on base percentage with .328. The starting eight should become even more dangerous once the silent bats begin to walk up.

With pitching, the team is overall ranked fifth best in the league in ERA with 3.76, tied for fifth in saves with 8, third in innings pitched with 290.0, tied for sixth best in least runs given up with 137, sixth for least earned runs given up with 121 and least walks given up with 110, tied for eighth for least hits given up with 285, and tied for fourth for least batters hit by a pitch with 7. Their one major problem category is that they have given up too many home runs thus far, giving up 32 total, making them the sixth worst team in that category. The main reason for the success that they have had so far this year has been because of the bullpen. The Phils’ relief corps so far has the second best ERA in the league at 2.66, second best in least hits given up at 79, in least earned runs with 29, and in strike outs with 71, the league best at least runs given up at 32, and is tied for first for least home runs given up with 5 and hit batters with 2. If the bullpen can continue what it is doing now and if the starters can improve during the season, the Phillies will be tough to beat, pitching wise.

Meta

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